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Do a google search for "macbook random shutdown" and you will find many people with similar problems reporting on various forums. Most frequently, the MacBook operates normally for several weeks or months, but mysteriously begins intermittently shutting off suddenly. The shutdowns are not accompanied by kernel panics, but instead the machine simply goes black and the machine is off. Initially, the cause of this problem was not known and early repairs of the main logic board and heat sink did not incorporate the changes made after the cause of the problem was discovered. Numerous attempts at user, ad hoc, solutions have been posted, but the only definitive and permanent solution requires repair by Apple.

The problem as difficult to characterize because its symptoms mimic more common causes of system failure (bad RAM, improperly seated RAM, improperly seated hard drive, bad software install, bad battery, bad AC adapter, corrupted PRAM, corrupted NVRAM) which ALL must be ruled out before making the sudden shutdown diagnosis. The problem's intermittent nature means it may not be possible to reproduce on demand.

At present, this problem is being addressed by Apple and affects at least serial number range 4H617-4H635. MacBooks produced after that date should have an updated heat sink assembly which does not have that problem. The problem seems to have two root causes.

1. Two heat sensor wires in contact with the heat sink can melt and once that occurs, intermittent shorting of the wires causes the machine to sense an emergent temperature problem and the system performs an immediate power down.

2. Also, as described in a MacTalk Australia posting ..... 2 small connectors that bake under the enclosed heat on the Macbook (the Mac book Pro has more space and 2 fans) these connects then loose contact with their pins.... Once contact is lost, the machine does an emergency power down

The common thread is that heat in the original heat sink and thermal sensor design eventually may cause the problem to occur. Once contact or insulation problems begin, the machine can begin suddenly shutting down while cold or hot. Until sufficient heat is built up, the MacBook operates without any issues. It is possible for an early MacBook to operate normally for months before heat causes the problem to occur. Indeed it is possible a machine may never exhibit this problem despite having this weakness in its components. None the less, the early MacBooks have a heat sink and thermal sensor wiring harness that is inherently prone to deterioration. Because the risk of deterioration increases over time, it is reasonable to expect more early MacBooks to develop intermittent shutdown problems as time passes.

There are some early reports that even a heat sink assembly replacement repair does not always solve the issue. In such cases, a logic board replacement may also be necessary, but at this point, heat sink assembly replacement should solve the identified problem unless the MLB was also somehow damaged.

The current count of affected MacBooks has not been disclosed, but well over 1,000 machines have been reported on-line independent of Apple. The actual number of early MacBooks which will eventually be affected may be significantly larger even if one discounts the tendency of the web to amplify negative news.

Because heat is the root cause of the problem, two camps have appeared regarding how to deal with this issue. This author believes that the MacBooks should be allowed to warm to full operating temperature by running some high CPU usage tasks (with normal circulation around the case) for several hours and then seeing over the next few days if the problem occurs. The rationale is reveal any tendency for the problem while the MacBook is within warranty and before any critical usage. The other camp believes that the MacBook should only be used lightly and never allowed to get warm enough to induces the problem. The reader is left to choose their own course.

Only a fraction of shutdowns are due to this particular fault. A large number of other reasons must be ruled out before a MacBook owner should become convinced their machine is one which suffers this problem. Bad RAM, poorly seated RAM, improperly installed hard drive, corrupted OS, corrupted plists, bad batteries, bad chargers, corrupted PMU, and corrupted NVRAM all need to be ruled out first. During your call to Apple care you may be asked to perform checks to rule out the above list. Once a diagnosis of intermittent shut down is made, repair can take days to weeks depending on availability of parts and whether additional components beyond the heat sink assembly needs to be repaired. Once repaired, the MacBook is less likely to redevelop the problem, but as of this date, long term usage of several months has not had time to happen.

It is the hope of this writer that Apple will continue to assist its customers with this hardware "defect." So many first time Apple owners could be lost forever if this is not addressed openly and aggressively.

I've now swapped back to Apple RAM, reset the PMU again and still the machine shuts down randomly. Doesn't matter if it is on batter or mains. Even shutdown once during Apple Hardware test.

Back to the AppleStore it goes. I wish it would shutdown more frequently. Sometimes it takes a while before it happens. If I can't demo it readily, it's going to be a harder problem to diagnose and fix. However, the frequency of the problem seems to be getting higher.

We concluded at the Genius Bar that the machine needs a logic board replacement. Hopefully next week it will be back. My old PB Al 12 inch seems so slow, cramped, and washed out after a month with the MacBook.

(Posted my experience on some other forums, let me copy it here for reference)

Let me give my two cents...

The exact same thing was happening to me last week. I have a 2GHz MacBook with 2GB of RAM I bought from datamem.com and the 120GB HDD from Apple.

The screen would go black, but the fan would keep spinning. The screen would have crazy colors, and then kernel panic. All sorts of wild things. At first it was when I picked it up with just one hand, but then it started happening all the time. It was totally unacceptable.

I took my MacBook to the local Apple store on a saturday and showed them exactly the problem. They said they will ship it out on Monday and it would be back in a week. Needless to say I was pretty upset at the situation. I came home and realized that this is total crap from Apple and I was going to demand a replacement machine (i.e. I don’t want to keep a machine that needed to be repaired a month after purchase, that could just be bad news bears in the future).

That night I went in and asked about replacements, they said they weren’t authorized to do that, but I could call Applecare. I took the computer and went home and then tried using it. Shut down about 4 times in ten minutes and the sleep light would blink incessantly. I called Applecare sunday afternoon and it was about an hour phone call (45 minutes of that was me on hold). They said they would not replace it, but would ship a box out to me so I could send it in. I just decided to take it back to Applecare.

That night I was just tinkering around with it and then put my stock RAM back in the machine. I booted it up and it was fine, running without crashes. It was amazing. I used that painfully for awhile (coming from 2GB, 512 feels pretty slow), and then decided to put my 2GB back in the machine. I did this, suddenly it worked perfectly. Act of God? Who knows.

I made sure I put the RAM in perfectly, but what I feel did the trick was that I pulled the HDD out (no apparent reason, just wanted to see how easy it was to pull out). I slid the HDD back in and plugged it in nicely.

I, personally, believe I fixed it by pulling out the HDD and plugging it back in. It could be the RAM, who knows.

The new logic board continues to work well. Even running yes to max out the CPU and raise its temperature for ten to fifteen minutes does not cause it to shut down. No more sudden shutdown events and I'm running 10.4.7. I'm still scared to zap PRAM or reset the PMU lest I cause the other problem (white screen with colored lines) to recur.

There is a huge thread about this on Apple's own discussion forum. I'm surprised that thread has not been deleted.

Spoke too soon. My MacBook has once more developed sudden shutdowns even after its logic board was replaced. It was solid as a rock for about a week, but last night started doing it again. Went back through the usual suspects....

Gotta give props to Apple and the folks in the Bellevue Apple Store. Instead of forcing me to go through another repair cycle, I was swapped out to a new MacBook. It was outside of the normal time frame, but I asked if they would do it.

This is far better customer service than we got from Porsche when my wife's new Carerra had problems.

Mine went in last week for the same symptoms. I was able to reproduce the shutdown by letting the macbook completely cool off. Soon after powering it back on it would crash when the temp was rising between 35 and 40C.

Two weeks ago I opened a case with apple and they said a fix hasn't been indentified yet so I didn't send it in. Last week I called again and they told me the problem has been found and there is a fix now. Now I'm waiting on a batch of logic boards with no ETA (a new design maybe?). We'll see how that goes.

i use my macbook at home wirelessly and all my programs begin to freeze . . ichat drops connections . . . everything freezes . . . i had to reboot the computer 3 times in an hour last night . . . i don't know what to do

It looks like a huge problem. I ran the test that stresses the CPU, as outlined here: http://racr.free.fr/Site/MacBooks%20...0shutoffs.html , and mine continued to run. Fingers crossed my week 25 is ok. I have had some concerns lately, the num lock/caps keys resetting their settings. Also, am I crazy, or should the power light glow when the macbook is on? I'm sure mine used to, but now it doesn't, although works fine when sleeping.

There check their own forum, which has a thread on it with over 600 responses (they definitely check it because some people got replacement machines with upgraded specs to appease them, and these posts were promptly deleted, Apple no doubt fearing everyone would start demanded upgraded models).

I think they have had a huge shipment of bad logic boards. Then again, could it also be an EFI issue? Although I believe the iMacs and Mini's have been relatively flawless.

i dunno what is wrong but im pretty pissed. my macbook started turning off 3 weeks ago. somepoeple ahve had their logic board fixed and their computer still shuts off. my macbook shuts off at least once. the moderators acutally locked the first thread in teh apple discussion forum.

I spoke with Apple last night regarding my 2.0Ghz white Macbook. After telling them what I had tried so far(reset parameter ram, reset pmu, reinstall OSX) the tech said that they needed to "capture" my Macbook and that a senior tech would be on the line to tell me more about that. After a few minutes the original tech came back on and said that they weren't taking any more Macbooks for this process, and that a normal repair would be done. I should have a shipping box by the end of the day today... we'll see what happens.....

i dunno what is wrong but im pretty pissed. my macbook started turning off 3 weeks ago. somepoeple ahve had their logic board fixed and their computer still shuts off. my macbook shuts off at least once. the moderators acutally locked the first thread in teh apple discussion forum.

my average is 3 times an our when running off batteries

i told applecare this yesterday and she "Katie" said it's "definitely a software" problem

plugged in to both the power cable and ethernet cable at work . . . i can run 10 hours straight with no problem . . . .

Do a google search for "macbook random shutdown" and you'll find many people with similar problems reporting on various forums. At present, this issue has not been picked up by the mainstream PC news media. However, one should also note that only a fraction of those with problems are suffering this particular fault.

My own MacBook suffered the random sudden shutdown malady and eventually required complete replacement after a logic board replacement did not solve the issue. Some of the MacBooks appear to have a hardware problem which surfaces after a period of use. Many reported their problems starting after a month of ownership. Coincidentally, that also coincided with the release of 10.4.7, but most likely that is not at the root of the sudden, random, shutdown problem.

(However, 10.4.7 is strongly implicated in a separate MacBook problem - colored vertical lines during boot on some machines. That is probably a separate issue.)

Description of the Random, Sudden Shutdown Problem

MacBook suddenly shuts off to a completely powered down state seemingly at random. There are no kernel panic, mouse freezing, or other premonitory symptoms. The machine simply powers down suddenly. The screen goes black. The hard drive spins down and no sleep light illuminates. The machine simply turns itself off.

The shutdowns may occur on either battery or with AC adapter attached. Some owners report their MacBook is less prone to sudden shut down while on battery vs AC adapter. My own afflicted MacBook would suddenly shutdown on a fully charged battery or on either of two AC adapters.

The shutdowns occur with either 10.4.6 or 10.4.7 OS loaded. I went through several cycles of clean installs of the base 10.4.6 and the Intel Combo update to 10.4.7 before it became clear it mattered not which OS was running. Another indicator that this is not an OS issue is that sudden shutdowns can occur in target mode and also when running just the Apple Hardware Test - which relies on minimal software to operate.

The shutdowns tend to become more frequent once they begin. They may worsen to the point that a machine will not complete boot up before shutting down. It may take several power up presses to start the machine. Oddly enough, a machine that had difficulty starting up, may be easy to start up several minutes later. It may run for hours or minutes before another sudden shutdown. The frequency is low and random enough that is very difficult to demonstrate this fault to a service technician.

Some users are able to induce a sudden shutdown by running their CPU's at high load and thus heating up the machine. This is easily done by running the yes command in two Terminal windows. Some users report their MacBook is more prone to sudden shutdowns when their CPU is relatively cool. The bipolar reporting is confusing. There may be more than one type of sudden shutdown being reported. One due to CPU overheating and another due to another hardware problem which has yet to be elucidated.

Resetting of the PMU and PRAM may temporarily reduce the frequency of the sudden shutdowns, but the effect is temporary. Indeed, the effect may not even be real given the randomness of the shutdowns. None the less, one must perform PMU and PRAM resets to ensure that some corruption of those devices is not creating a reason for shutdowns. On my own MacBook, resetting PMU and PRAM (four chimes) did not prevent the random sudden shutdowns.

The sudden shutdowns occur with well seating stock RAM, replacement RAM, and reseated/replaced hard drives. Swapping out and testing both RAM and hard drive helps to eliminate those as the source of the problem. On my own machine, I exchanged the RAM and the hard drive to eliminate them as the cause. This made it considerably easier for the Apple genius to decide it was an internal problem.

In my case, a logic board replacement did indeed solve the fault, but several days later, sudden shutdowns began again. Presumably either the replacement board has the same weakness as the original or some other component of the machine was the actual reason for the sudden shutdowns. The former is quite likely because the machine was made stable for several days with a new logic board. At that point, I requested to be swapped to a new machine and the Apple Store manager wisely decided to help out his customer. For that I am most grateful. However, it is unlikely that the majority of people will have their machines swapped out, but instead repaired.

At this time, no official statement regarding cause for or acknowledgment of the MacBook's sudden random shutdown problem has been made. Because the underlying cause has not been revealed, it is impossible to know that a logic board replacement will permanently solve the problem or merely result in the same fault recurring later on the replacement board. Of course, we do not know if it actually is a logic board flaw.

1. Get your data backed up immediately. The machine will likely suffer more and more frequent shutdown events.

2. Revert to stock RAM and hard drive if you have installed after-market replacements. You must do this and see if the shutdowns continue to occur. Otherwise, the first thing blamed will be your RAM and hard drive.

3a. Perform a PMU reset, by shutting down the MacBook. Removing the battery. Disconnect the AC Adapter. Then, press the power button for five seconds. The reinstall the battery and mains adapter. Restart the machine.

3b. Reset PRAM by holding option-command-P-R keys down during startup until you hear the chime at least three or four times.

Resetting the PMU and PRAM are standard procedures you'll otherwise be asked to perform to diagnose your machine.

4. Do a CLEAN install of the OSX if you wish to totally eliminate a bad OS install as the problem. This will destroy all your data. Alternatively, an archive and install will be helpful without totally destroying your data, but that will not let you exonerate your system files and settings. An alternative is to run Apple's hardware test utility which is found on your OS installation disc. However, an extended hardware test is needed because the shutdown flaw may take hours to surface.

Note: If your MacBook has become so "narcoleptic" that it cannot even complete a boot up sequence, try holding the power button down until you hear a loud beep. That may allow an otherwise balky machine to start.

Once you have done the above, and are still seeing random sudden shutdowns, you have largely done the preliminary footwork that you'll need to prove whether your MacBook has this particular problem. Then, call AppleCare or visit your Apple Genius to have the machine repaired or replaced. Hopefully, the root cause of this problem will be discovered, disclosed, repaired and prevented. For now, it appears only a fraction of the machines are suffering this problem, but the machine population is still young. Overall, the MacBook is perhaps the finest laptop I've bought from Apple. It will be nice to trust the machine to not lose my work.

BTW - resetting PMU may induce a separate 10.4.7 related bug which results in your MacBook exhibiting a white screen with progressively more numerous vertical color lines during startup. This appears to be fixable by resetting PRAM and then temporarily changing display resolution to something other than the current setting and then back.

I started having this problem about 2 weeks ago. It actually started while trying to run Windows Update inside Parallels. I made a post about it but it was moved to the Alternative Operating System forum, where it got no exposure.

After a little while, it started doing it outside of Parallels, so I knew that wasn't the problem. I had after market RAM in the machine, and it didn't seem to shut down with the stock ram, so I RMA's my ram. A few days later, it shut down again, so I took it to the apple store. They replaces the battery, DVD drive and logic board. A few days later, BAM - shut down.

I don't know what to do. It's becoming more frequent, yet I can't pinpoint exactly what makes it happen. Sometimes it'll go 3 days without turning off, others it'll happen every 45 mins, and I have to wait a little bit to turn it back on, or it will just turn off again.

At my wits end! I'm on vacation right now, but when I get back I think it's time for another Aple Store trip...

Sorry to hear another person afflicted with the problem. On the brighter side, my replacement MacBook as been solid (and cooler running than the old one) for over a week now. I'm hopeful this is behind me.

Mine's white, and has been at the Apple depot since yesterday, the current status is "on hold - part on order." I suspect a new version of the logic board is being produced to fix the issue and may be in short supply. I kinda wish they'd just give me a new one....

it sucks that if this problem occurs usally a month into ownership. It was like that for me. Even if you get a new machine you won't really know for weeks whether it's better and you have to go through it all again.

I also had the same problem with my white one. It only happened twice before it would refuse to turn on at all. I took it back to the store and explained the deal. They swapped my after-market ram for the apple ram(I brought it with me) and it had the same trouble.

They sent it out for repair at this point. It took nearly 3 weeks to get it back and everything seemed ok. Then like 2 days later the machine stopped recognizing the battery, displaying an X in the menu bar battery icon. Now I have no battery power and a single flashing status light when you press the button on the battery.

During my service it says they replaced the logic board and the battery.

mine shuts down sometimes, but it's probably an itunes or cd drive problem. it only happens when importing specific CDs into iTunes. maybe it's a thing with a certain scratch in a certain spot on the disc making everything haywire. besides that, i have nothing like what you're talking about. (2 ghz / 1 gb of apple ram / early model)

Today was a sad day. My macbook also keeps shutting off. I took her into apple and it's being sent out for service. I was told the logic board needed to be replaced .There also replacing the discolored top and swapped out my buzzing ac adapter on the spot. The Geniuse looked as if he had heard of all the symptoms before. I'm pretty sure Im not the first.

Jaydon- if for some reason your MacBook goes on hold for the logic board (many of them have), make sure you request a global search so that it doesn't take as long.

I sent my MacBook in, and it sat on hold for a week before I called again to see what was up. The tech asked if I'd requested a global search, which sends out some sort of message for other places authorized to fix Apple products to send whatever part you need if they have it on hand. The good thing is that if someone has it, it will be sent to the repair depot for YOUR MacBook specifically.

Anywho, I have had my MacBook back from repair for about 5 days now, and it is running great, and MUCH cooler. Now, they replaced many other parts besides the logic board, so I am not sure what part being replaced actually did the trick...but hopefully it stays running smoothly! It took 2 weeks total before I got mine back, which isn't so bad when I see people saying 3 weeks or more.

I'm having the same issues too with the sudden shutdown on my macbook (build wk 26). If the logic board is the issue as so many are saying, will i have to back up all my data if apple were to replace the logic board? I trid all the advice posted in this topic and it seems my macbook now also gives me a blank black screen everytime i restart/turn on my laptop; resulting in me having to hold down command/option/p/r keys to correct the problem on everytime i start up the laptop.

I brought my MacBook week 20 in on July 12th for the sudden shutdown problem, the logic board was replaced, and I received it back July 19. It worked great for the time I have had it back, and today the problem returned-- shutdown twice. Called apple and they are having me take out (1) of my apple shipped ram modules to see if it remedies, and if it seems fine try the other one.... Will keep you posted.

I brought my MacBook week 20 in on July 12th for the sudden shutdown problem, the logic board was replaced, and I received it back July 19. It worked great for the time I have had it back, and today the problem returned-- shutdown twice. Called apple and they are having me take out (1) of my apple shipped ram modules to see if it remedies, and if it seems fine try the other one.... Will keep you posted.

Mine is random during normal usage. However, can be provoked by starting (2) windows of "yes > /dev/null" occurs w/in 2 minutes.

Weird, it stopped doing it. However, while thinking of reasons, I pegged the cores for 5 min. and the fans started to blare, however, still the temp. was 96-97 C and didn't budge. I know they can handle 100C but that seems like its flirting with disaster. UGH I wish it would start doing it again so it gets fixed during it's visit to apple.

Jaydon- if for some reason your MacBook goes on hold for the logic board (many of them have), make sure you request a global search so that it doesn't take as long.

I sent my MacBook in, and it sat on hold for a week before I called again to see what was up. The tech asked if I'd requested a global search, which sends out some sort of message for other places authorized to fix Apple products to send whatever part you need if they have it on hand. The good thing is that if someone has it, it will be sent to the repair depot for YOUR MacBook specifically.

Anywho, I have had my MacBook back from repair for about 5 days now, and it is running great, and MUCH cooler. Now, they replaced many other parts besides the logic board, so I am not sure what part being replaced actually did the trick...but hopefully it stays running smoothly! It took 2 weeks total before I got mine back, which isn't so bad when I see people saying 3 weeks or more.

Good luck! Don't be too sad, AppleCare will take care of it!

Shauna

Looks like it will be back soon. It has already been shipped out to my local apple store

I talked to the AC rep again and they said that it's for sure a software issue. Now I have to reserve my saturday to call them and go through every single test in the book to figure out what the friggin problem is.

I just received my MacBook back from Apple a couple of hours ago. On the sheet that they sent with it, the service description is as follows: "APP-603-9857 ASSY, BEZEL, M42 APP-603-8956 SUNON
FAN W/ CABLE APP-605-0994 SVC, TOP CASE W" They replaced the plactics, a fan, and some other things. I wonder what those part codes mean. So far I've had no shutdowns, but it may take some time for them to appear. I'll post again if this repair doesn't resolve my issues....

I just received my MacBook back from Apple a couple of hours ago. On the sheet that they sent with it, the service description is as follows: "APP-603-9857 ASSY, BEZEL, M42 APP-603-8956 SUNON
FAN W/ CABLE APP-605-0994 SVC, TOP CASE W" They replaced the plactics, a fan, and some other things. I wonder what those part codes mean. So far I've had no shutdowns, but it may take some time for them to appear. I'll post again if this repair doesn't resolve my issues....

BTW, My MacBook is a week 21 white 2.0Ghz model

Sounds like you got the non bovine model Sunon fan installed (no mooing) and maybe the heatsink replaced with a possibly newer design.

How's the moo and temperature doing as well as no shutdowns compared to before going into Dr. 90210?

*** POSSIBLY HELPFUL TIP FOR PEOPLE VISITING THE GENIUS BAR TO GET THIS FIXED ***

If the system log of your computer has something logged about the shutdown, make sure to show that to the folks working at the Apple Store you visit. My error msg, like many others, says:

Aug 9 09:46:50 localhost kernel[0]: Previous Shutdown Cause: -82

The "Genius" at Apple Store was figiting around in my computer (going through my photo albums for all i know) when I pointed him to the error msg in the console... a few minutes later, he said he'd have to ship the computer out to get it fixed. I asked what was wrong with my computer, to which he replied (blah blah blah, they'll do diagnostics after we ship the computer out, blah blah). I made sure to ask whether they are going to replace my logic board right away, or have to reproduce a random shutdown before they do... and he said because my console logged the shutdown, they'll just replace it.

So that's the take home msg: show the console, and hopefully you won't have to sit there while the "Geniuses" fiddle with your computer until they can reproduce a random shutdown.

Ahh, but there's more... I explained how I absolutely needed my computer to finish a proposal for work due this weekend, and asked for a loaner computer. The "Genius" said they Apple doesn't do loaners... so I kept bugging him about how important it was for me to get my work done, and how I can't take the risk of a shutdown causing me to lose work and I can't send the computer in because I'll be computerless, which is just as bad! So the "Genius" ended-up ordering the parts to the store, so I'll keep my computer until they schedule me in for a (hopefully) quick repair.

FYI: According to the "Genius Bar Work Authorization" receipt, they're replacing my logic board ($890.63), the housing/top case w/keyboard version 2 (my plastic is getting discolored as well... so I'm getting that fixed... $101.56), and finally the plastic around my screen ($10.94). Of course I don't have to pay for the repairs... just found it funny that the total comes to $1003.13, then u wonder about labor ... why doesn't Apple just ship me a new damn computer? =^(

The end. (hopefully). I never register for these forums, but I thought someone might find this somewhat useful. Oh, and thanks to everyone else who has posted!! You guys helped me deal with a situation that was starting to make me go crazy!!!

FYI: According to the "Genius Bar Work Authorization" receipt, they're replacing my logic board ($890.63), the housing/top case w/keyboard version 2 (my plastic is getting discolored as well... so I'm getting that fixed... $101.56), and finally the plastic around my screen ($10.94). Of course I don't have to pay for the repairs... just found it funny that the total comes to $1003.13, then u wonder about labor ... why doesn't Apple just ship me a new damn computer? =^(

Although it may sound strange that's not unusual. It's the same with cars: If you'd build a car from replacement parts, it would costs 10 times as much. Those prices aren't close to what the parts cost Apple. And any 'Genius' labor is more than included in that price.

How do I view the error log in console? I recently had a 5 consecutive sudden shutdowns after pushing the power button... I'm just waiting for my external harddrive to backup my files before I send it in to Apple.

Sounds like you got the non bovine model Sunon fan installed (no mooing) and maybe the heatsink replaced with a possibly newer design.

How's the moo and temperature doing as well as no shutdowns compared to before going into Dr. 90210?

No mooing or shutdowns so far...but when they replaced the plastics they misaligned the portion above the optical drive slot, now there is a visable gap between the closed lid and the base of the Macbook, also it is very difficult to get discs in and out. I don't have time to take care of this now, but on Monday, I'll be calling Apple..again!